//------------------------------// // A New Servant Arrives // Story: The Fifth Holy Grail War: A Pony's Perspective // by Evowizard25 //------------------------------// Shirou wasn't an idiot nor was he clueless when it came to other people. At least compared to what some people thought he was. Oh yes, he had heard a few things that were whispered behind his back. That he was a sort of airhead when it came to girls. That wasn't true. He lived with two of them after all. Well three now. Sakura came over enough that she was family and Twilight was living with him now. So he could tell when someone was hiding something. Sakura was one thing. He couldn't barge into her home to make sure everything was okay, no matter how much he wanted to sometimes. Shinji was a good friend but he tested his patience occasionally. Twilight Sparkle was another. That wasn't a name he was familiar with in the west. Of course, it could always be the case she had hippie parents. He had heard stories about how some American parents wanted to give their children really strange, nature names. They were usually stupid when he heard them but he wasn't one to judge people on their names alone. No, he knew Twilight was a good woman. Innocent and pretty cute. She was on the Rin level of beauty. Well the Rin and Sakura level of beauty but he wasn't sure if he should consider Sakura. She was like a sister to him. Anyways, Twilight did seem like a good person akin to Sakura. However she seemed… strange to put a word to it. Especially since he had seen her going into his shack a bit. His private shack. He hadn't said a thing yet because he thought it was innocent but he had heard some screams and other noises in their. He was sure she'd tell him but not a word. So he decided to take it into his own hands. He was not prepared to see a bloody circle filled with dead chicks when he opened the shack. One such bird was in the paw of the little dog who hadn't noticed him enter. Thankfully the door was open so it wasn't hard to walk in. "And now I have to clean this up," the dog, Spike he remembered, snorted. "Typical." "...You can talk?" Shirou's world almost came to a standstill. If he wasn't already aware of magic, he'd be freaking out. The dog yelped and turned around, "No I can't… shoot." Which lead him to the present. He had witnessed a talking dog. Something akin to a satanic ritual being performed in front of him. Okay, that was a bit of a stretch. His father had explained how bloody magic could be but still. It was one thing to hear about it. It was another to see it. Then he saw Twilight and a little girl appear before him in a flash. Teleportation? Now that was a type of magic he'd never seen before. Even if it was Twilight, he was still wary of her. He had learned enough about magi to know they weren't exactly the nicest bunch. They killed and destroyed plenty of lives and property over the centuries for their own selfish desires. Yet he didn't feel at all any maliciousness about Twilight. Perhaps she hadn't been ingrained with that sort of mentality. She was still young after all and not everyone of a particular group was evil. That never worked. So he decided to listen to her story. Besides, she was rather kind and the way she held the little girl made his heart melt. "- And that's what happened." Twilight Sparkle finished. The pair of them were sitting down on the ground with Assassin in her lap and Spike at her side. Shirou was silent for a moment as he tried his best to process what he was hearing. He took in a deep breath before gazing straight at her face, "So you're from Equestria." Twilight nodded. "Which makes you an alicorn in a human body." "Yep." "And you're after Sunset, who's also a pony." "Yep." "And you somehow became a mother." "Pretty much." "And now you're stuck in a war that could kill you and your daughter?" Twilight hugged Assassin close to her body, "Yes." Her voice was small. Never let it be said Shirou wasn't chivalrous. The moment he saw that, he wanted to smash everyone who wanted in on this war. They would hurt her if all that she was saying was true. If it wasn't for the Grail, it would be for the crown. Even if it wasn't Sunset, no doubt most any magi would salivate at the idea of 'The Element of Magic'. Not to mention a portal to a world filled with magic. He had to protect them. He nodded, "Alright, at least you're being honest with me." "...Do you hate me now?" Shirou blinked in confusion at that. She looked like she was about to cry, "What are you talking about?" "I've been lying to you," Twilight said, sniffing. "And… and I could have gotten you hurt. I still could get you hurt." She was about to cry because she was worried about him? Shirou stood up and walked towards her. He knelt down as she looked up at him in confusion. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I will protect. As a hero of justice, it's my duty." "Eh?" Twilight looked confused. "But-" "You had the best of intentions," Shirou smiled at her, noting that her cheeks were heating up. Perhaps they should go inside. It was hot outside after all. "I'll do my best to help you as long as you stay in this world." "Thank you," Twilight's smile was rather cute, now that he thought about it. "So does that mean we have a daddy now?" Assassin asked, causing the two in question to blush heavily and stare at her. Spike laughed, "Well you'd make quite the pair." "Shut up, Spike." Twilight seethed. Shirou shook his head. He didn't have time to dwell on that sort of teasing. Besides, it's not like it would work out anyways. A pony princess and him? That sounded like a fantasy. This was real life where they were fighting a magical war between the spirits of dead heroes and fictional characters all the while looking for a crown that was the embodiment of magic to help save a kingdom of ponies…. You know, why couldn't he just have a simple life? He turned towards the circle. A small part of himself felt drawn to it, "So this is the thing you used to summon Assassin?" "Yeah," Twilight nodded. "It was all set so all I had to do was channel some magic into it. It was weird. It was almost as if it didn't want to respond at first. Perhaps it just wasn't meant for me or our two kinds of magic aren't too compatible." "You're definitely going to have to teach me more about your magic after this," Shirou said before glancing down at the sigils. He hadn't noticed it before. It was so strange. He was sure he must have touched this spot as well in all of his time in here. Did he just not have enough prana? Perhaps he just wasn't ready for this war. He idly let his finger trace over the sigils. He wouldn't blame anyone but… He glanced at Twilight and his hand clenched. She was too good to be put in harm's way and Assassin… no child should be forced to fight. Sure she was creepy and tried to stab him twice while Sparkle was explaining but still. He was a Hero of Justice. He wasn't going to stand by while someone hurt innocent people. No matter what. He would stop them. He would save everyone. Suddenly, there was a flash and the magic surged into life. Shirou let out a gasp as he fell back on his rump. Assassin jumped out of Twilight's arms with a knife in both hands while Twilight jumped to her feet with magic laced around her hands. Before them stood a short but rather pretty blonde woman. She wore something of a battle dress with armor on top and across her arms and a long flowing bottom. It looked beautiful on her. Shirou could only look on and stare as her eyes shimmered in the low light from the moon. She was breathtaking. "Are you my master?" Her voice bespoke authority. "Can we stab her, mommy?" Assassin asked. Before anyone could say anything, the blonde knight turned to stare at Assassin for a split second. Her eyes widened and a gust of wind appeared in her hands, obscuring the weapon she was carrying. She struck, attempting to bisect Assassin. The servant of the shadows nimbly jumped over the blade and backflipped outside. The mysterious new woman followed. Twilight and Shirou stared at each other in surprise before rushing outside. The first thing they saw was the mysterious knight slashing at Assassin with speed and grace not seen in any mortal. If she was up against even the best trained swordsman, no doubt she would win. However, Assassin wasn't playing by those rules. The small child servant was jumping and weaving out of the way of the mysterious blade. As the knight slashed downwards, Assassin jumped back and twirled in the air. She threw a knife which the knight blocked before coming to the ground, having to dodge once more as the knight pressed her attack. "I don't know how much longer Assassin can keep dodging," Twilight said, obviously worried about her child. "We have to stop her." Shirou wanted to do something. He couldn't just let this woman harm Assassin. Not on his watch. He of course would have to be careful. This woman, who was probably carrying some sort of sword given how she was fighting, was dangerous. He need to be cautious. He turned into his shed and his eyes widened. It was stupid. Pretty stupid but it had to be done. He picked up a pipe and used his 'Reinforcement' magic to make it stronger. He gripped it tightly and nodded. "I'll stop it." Twilight put a hand on his shoulder, "You can't. She'll kill you." "Better me then Assassin," Shirou countered before smiling. "But hopefully it won't come down to this." Twilight grew red again and nodded, "So… what should we do?" "Give me an opening." The knight and Assassin kept on fighting. Assassin rolled out from another swipe of her sword. It was obvious the little girl could keep this up but the look on her face told him another story. She knew she couldn't win an upright fight. She was made to attack from the shadows, not the front. As well, Shirou remembered Twilight telling him how she was trying to teach Assassin to not kill. Which meant Assassin had no chance if this fight continued. "Stop it or we'll stab you!" Assassin shouted. "You won't have the chance," the knight shouted as she stabbed forward with speed and precision. Assassin was quicker. Just as the knight stabbed forward, Assassin jumped right onto the blade. She nimbly ran right up it and pressed a knife to her neck. Her eyes looked hers dead on as she said deadly calm, "We had the chance." The knight paused. No doubt she couldn't do anything to get the little girl off of her without some sort of damage. However, one thing came to her mind. She didn't let it show. Instead her sword burst outward with a magical gust attack, "Strike air!" Assassin was sent flying and then tumbling along the ground. A few grunts were heard as she finally came to a stop. The knight wouldn't let her get up as she sped right to her with a prepared strike. "Now!" Shirou shouted as he ran. Twilight held her hand forward and a wall of purple magic appeared right before Assassin. It wasn't her strongest spell nor did she pump a ton into it. It was just enough to stop her, she was sure. However the moment the knight struck it, it shattered. Twilight gasped and took a step backwards. It was like the magic didn't really affect her. She was sure it should have. Assassin still was affected by her magic. It did cause the knight's sword to move backwards slightly from the blow. The knight's eyes widened in shock from the sudden shield. That gave Shirou just enough time to rush forward and grab Assassin. He rolled out of the way, keeping the little girl's body out of sight from the knight's. "What are you doing?" The knight shouted. "She is an enemy servant. I must eliminate her." "She's a little girl," Shirou stood up with Assassin in one arm and his pipe in another. "You will not hurt her." The knight gritted her teeth, "Did you summon me?" "Yes." "Then you are my master," the knight said. "That means I must protect you. She is a servant. Assassin, I believe. She will kill you." "That doesn't make any sense and I don't care," Shirou shouted. "She is a little girl and the child of my friend. If you want to hurt her, you'll have to go through me." Twilight teleported in front of him, "And me." The knight glared at them for a moment before dismissing her sword. She sighed, "Master, could you perhaps explain to me what is going on?" Twilight smiled, "Yes and to do that, how about we go inside. Shirou can cook us up something." "I don't particularly want to eat with my enemy," the knight said. "How about a friend?" Twilight stuck out a hand towards the knight. The knight blinked in confusion, "A friend? Are you not a master as well?" "... I think?" Twilight scratched her head. "In all honesty, I don't know all the details about this 'war'." The knight sighed even deeper this time, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Typical. Very well, I shall inform you of this war… after I get something to eat."